Volleyball Headline

Two home regular-season tournaments, participation in the
fourth year of the NIKE Volleyball Big Four Classic and 16 home matches
highlight the 2013 University of Florida volleyball schedule.

The Gators, who are coming off the program’s 20th
Southeastern Conference title and their 22nd consecutive NCAA Tournament
appearance, are the winningest program in the NCAA since 13-time SEC Coach of
the Year Mary Wise’s arrival in 1991.Florida boasts the highest
attendance in the SEC annually and has ranked in the top-12 in the NCAA in the
last 10 seasons.

Season tickets are on sale now for only $35. The Country
103.7 Gator Gold Card is only $60 and grants admission to all regular season
home Volleyball matches, Gymnastics meets and Women’s Basketball games.

A new option this year is the Platinum Card. For only $100,
Gator fans gain a general admission pass into all regular season home
Volleyball matches, Gymnastics meets, Women’s Basketball games and Baseball
games. The pass is for general admission only and does not guarantee a fan a
seat with potential standing room only at select events.

Gator fans can purchase season tickets, The Country 103.7
Gator Gold Card and the NEW Platinum Card via the Gator Ticket Office
online or by calling 1-800-34Gator (1-800-344-2867).

The Gators open 2013 with the Campus USA Credit Union
Invitational, Friday-Saturday, August 30-31. Florida hosts New Orleans,
LIU-Brooklyn and Duke during its home opener and UF has won the Invitational in
each year of its existence. UF has faced only Duke and New Orleans previously,
owning an undefeated mark (3-0) against the Blue Devils in the friendly
confines of the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. This will be the Blackbirds’ first
trip to the O’Dome but the Gators have defeated LIU Brooklyn twice previously.

Florida then hits the road for the Lone Star State, matching
up against UT-San Antonio on Thursday, September 5. The Gators will then head
to Austin for the fourth installment of the NIKE Volleyball Big Four Classic.
The defending NCAA Champion Texas Longhorns host the 2013 version of the event,
as the Gators face the Stanford Cardinal on Saturday, September 7 and Penn
State Sunday, September 8.

The Orange and Blue return home to host the Active Ankle
Challenge, Friday-Saturday, September 13-14. Georgetown, Iona and Western
Michigan make the trip to Gainesville that weekend. The Gators have only met
Western Michigan in the program’s history, sweeping the Broncos in the O’Dome
in 1999.

Florida then gears up for their biggest non-conference home
matchup of the season as they renew their oldest non-conference rivalry against
in-state foe Florida State. Tuesday, September 17 will mark the 53rd meeting
between the two teams. The Gators are 35-17 all-time against the Seminoles and
haven’t dropped a match at home against FSU during Wise’s tenure.

With the addition of an extra non-conference weekend, UF
wraps up non-conference action with a trip to Milwaukee to compete in the Marquette
Invitational, facing both the host Golden Eagles on Friday, September 20 as
well as Wisconsin-Milwaukee the following Saturday.

SEC action begins the last weekend of September for the
Orange and Blue as they head to the Magnolia State to take on Mississippi State
on Friday, September 27 and Ole Miss on Sunday, September 29.

Florida briefly returns home for its SEC home opener against
Texas A&M on Friday, October 4 before hitting the road to play the Alabama
Crimson Tide on Sunday, October 6.

The Gators’ first full SEC home weekend comes Friday,
October 11 and Sunday, October 13 as UF plays host to SEC East rivals Kentucky
and Georgia, respectively. The Wildcats are coming off an NCAA Tournament
appearance in 2012 as well as a runner-up finish in the SEC standings.

Florida hits the road once again to match up against the
Arkansas Razorbacks on Friday, October 18 at Barnhill Arena. The last two trips
to Fayetteville have been dramatic for the Orange and Blue, as the Gators have
staged two five-set comebacks in the last two seasons to defeat the host
Razorbacks. UF then travels to Columbia, Mo. to play the first of a
home-and-home series against Missouri on Sunday, October 20. The Gators swept
the Tigers in both meetings last year.

Auburn and Tennessee then travel to Gainesville for the last
weekend in October, as the Gators will meet up with the Tigers only once in
2013 on Friday, October 25. The following Sunday marks the opener of a
home-and-home series against the Lady Volunteers, the lone team to defeat the
Gators in conference play a year ago.

UF hits the road for its final full weekend of conference
travel to face the LSU Tigers and the Texas A&M Aggies Friday and Sunday, November
1 and 3. These matches bookend a 10-day bye for the Orange and Blue as Florida
will stand idle until Wednesday, November 13 for a mid-week matchup with South
Carolina that will potentially air as part of ESPNU’s Wednesday Night
Women’s Volleyball package.

In its last full home weekend, the Gators host Mizzou and
Alabama in the O’Connell Center, Friday and Sunday, November 15 and 17. Florida
hits the road for another mid-week match with ESPNU potential as the Orange and
Blue travel to SEC East rival Tennessee on Wednesday, November 20.

Florida’s final home match will serve as the Gators’ Senior
Night, as the Orange and Blue will honor AVCA First Team All-American and 2012
SEC Player of the Year Chloe Mann (Gainesville, Fla.) and two-time AVCA
Honorable Mention All-American setter Taylor Brauneis (Crystal Lake,
Ill.) on Friday, November 22nd.

The Gators’ final regular season contest of 2013 will be in
Lexington, as Florida travels to Memorial Coliseum to take on the Kentucky
Wildcats for their second meeting of the season. Slated for Wednesday, November
27, this match should also be highlighted on ESPNU’s Wednesday Night Women’s
Volleyball.